Secondary Transition Services Awards
Nominations are now being accepted for this year’s Arizona Secondary Transition Services Awards!
On behalf of the Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services, and other partnering agencies, you are invited to submit your nominations for this year's Secondary Transition Services Awards, which will be presented at Arizona's 2024 IDEA Conference.
Your nomination is important to recognize the secondary transition contributions and successes happening across Arizona. To nominate a youth/young adult, community member, and/or educator for their exceptional efforts, please submit an online nomination form.
Nomination categories:
- Youth/Young Adult: A youth or recently graduated young adult who has benefited from successful secondary transition services.
- Community Member: An individual (employee, manager, owner of a community business, etc.) who provides exemplary support for students and/or young adults with disabilities to enhance community-based experiences and opportunities.
- Educator: A PEA or Secure Care certified staff, classified staff, support staff member, related service provider, or administrator who provides remarkable secondary transition services.
For each nomination, you must provide basic demographic information about the candidate’s background, strengths, and his or her outstanding participation in the secondary transition process.
We encourage you to nominate multiple individuals across all categories. Please do not nominate programs or groups for any of the award categories, as we wish to recognize people for their individual efforts.
All nominations submitted on or before Friday, May 31, 2024, will be considered. Award winners will be selected and notified in July.
If you have any questions, please email the IDEA Conference inbox.
Please download our Secondary Transition Services Awards Flyer.
2023 Secondary Transition Services Award Winners
Eliana Carter: Youth/Young Adult Award Winner
Eliana Carter was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. She loves drawing and watching anime in her free time. She thoroughly enjoys listening to different genres of music, especially soundtracks.
Eliana graduated from Empire High School in May of 2023. During her senior year, she participated in the Vail Early College program, completing 27 college credits by the time she graduated high school. Eliana will attend the University of Arizona in the Fall of 2023, entering as a transfer student because of her involvement with and achievement through the Vail Early College program. Eliana has earned a Wildcat Recognition Scholarship and a Blue Chip Leadership Scholarship/Mentorship. She will major in Family Studies and Human Development, with minors in Leadership and Studio Art.
Eliana’s overarching goal is to become a Pediatric Therapist and will possibly pursue a Doctorate in Pediatric Psychology. She is excited to incorporate her passion for art with the mental health field by offering Art Therapy as part of her practice.
Erica Yngve: Community Member Award Winner
Erica Yngve is an entrepreneur and owner of multiple companies based in Tucson, AZ including:
- Sonoran Stitch Factory: a cut-and-sew manufacturer supporting small to mid-size apparel clients with production, kitting, fulfillment, and shipping services. Winner of Tucson Metro Chamber’s 2022 UAIC-sponsored “Startup of the Year” award.
- Bralessly: a fashion brand featuring products for women who want to live comfortably and modestly. This start-up won Tucson’s 2019 IdeaFunding competition.
- Postcraft Products: a 90-year-old company featuring industrial-sewn products for housing, healthcare, hotels and resorts, and cruise ships.
- AZ Stitch Lab: a program funded by the City of Tucson and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe to provide industrial sewing machine training to meet the demands of Arizona businesses that employ industrial sewing machine operators. Sonoran Stitch Factory is the managing contractor for this initial 2-year program. AZ Stitch Lab was a finalist in the Common Grounds Awards in 2022.
Originally from Tucson, Erica started her career in manufacturing and operations and later worked as a partner in an import company. She received her MBA in Operations Management from DePaul University and her undergraduate degrees in Business and German from the University of Arizona. Erica lives in Tucson with her husband, three boys, and their dog.
Erin Warzecha: Educator Award Winner (Secure Care)
Erin joined the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Juvenile Education Division in 2014 after retiring from a long career as the Chief Hearing Officer with the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency. Before that, she served as a Correctional Program Officer with the Arizona Department of Corrections. Erin gained extensive experience and expertise working in the criminal justice system and has been able to use this knowledge by working with the juvenile students at MCSO. These students are charged with adult felony offenses, the majority of whom are eventually sentenced to terms of incarceration.
As the Social Worker/Transitional Specialist in her division, Erin has modified the transition curriculum to include insights into the availability of educational opportunities, self-help programming, and job training within the prison system. Her strong emphasis on education, career awareness, and developing an attitude for positive change along with the power of hope is front and center in her everyday presentations.
Vito Peppitoni: Educator Award Winner (PEA)
Vito Peppitoni’s experience assisting special education teachers at his local high school led him toward the special education field. Vito attended the University of Arizona for his Bachelor of Science in Special Education and later earned a Master of Education in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in K-12 Principalship from Northern Arizona University.
Vito’s career began at Flowing Wells Unified School District, where he taught students with emotional disabilities. He then spent ten years with Sunnyside Unified School District (SUSD), where he served as a Resource Math Teacher, a Self-Contained Teacher for students with mild intellectual disabilities, and a Transition Program Coordinator. During Vito’s tenure as a Transition Program Coordinator, he focused on developing the Transition from School to Work (TSW) program. Under Vito’s supervision, student participation in the TSW program increased from 15 students to 115 students over 4 years. Today, the program is fully staffed and serves 160 students.
This academic year, Vito will join the Tucson Unified School District as an Assistant Director of Exceptional Education. Vito looks forward to the coming school year and to the opportunities his new position will provide him, to continue to prioritize student needs and to support TUSD’s school administration and exceptional education teams’ success.
